Sheeraz - born to a Pakistani father and Indian mother - believes he can play a significant role in inspiring the next generation of South Asian fighters.

"My long-term plan is to open up a promotion company and bring through young Asian talent and aid them," he says.

But Sheeraz has criticised Briton Amir Khan - who retired this year - for comments in which he said a poor diet often prevented boxers from South Asian backgrounds reaching their full potential.

Speaking to The Guardian in May, former two-time world champion Khan said: "Our diet is appalling. It's curries. It's not the right diet to be a champion. If you put us against a lot of English fighters their diet is a lot better. They're stronger than us."

I wanted to be 'the people's champion' - Khan
Sheeraz says he disagrees with Khan, adding: "You can't blame it on the diet. You can't make a generalisation. It's not fair at all.

"Life is about balance and so is diet. You can have a bit of anything and everything.

"Look at Anthony Joshua on his Snapchat. Every other day he's having pounded yam and he puts the nutrition benefits with it to explain to people that this is his culture and this is how it helps him.

"In professional boxing, us Asians are the minority. We need every bit of support we can get. Getting slated from our own, by someone who has done it, is not the smartest thing."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/62136987